Germanlook/Rallylook Beetle
 

Well instead of making multiple threads about new additions to my car I have decided to make a ongoing build thread for it. Here I can consolidate my progress. My goal has always been to bring my Beetle up to more modern standards, and making it perform better. I have never had the goal of making my car track worthy nor "rally" worthy yet I love the look. This is my first car and has been my daily driver for the last 5 years. I have put countless hours of time into this car and it has been both my therapy and my obsession.

The newest addition (Christmas present to myself) would be the Kamei spoiler. ITS LOW!

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...t.jpg~original
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...t.jpg~original
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...t.jpg~original

And the Nardi wheel.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...5.jpg~original

that Kamei Looks SWEET... nice Score from Ebay ;)

Chris.

Looking good! Now lets see some photos of how you mounted it, you know...for archives sake.

-Dave

I love that look :thumbup:

Make sure you secure the spoiler to the fenders though or the mouting tabs will break.

Wow didn't even think of that! Good advice!

Nice, I like the look.

I'm building a 74 1303 in the same spirit.

Hi

Looking very GL, have you tried it on the highway yet, the Kameis really make a difference.

Steve

Very nice. Watch those speed bumps and curbs. The Kamei is made of ABS plastic so it is forgiving to a point.

Drat. This is making me think my '69 needs one.

;-)

-Dave

I am actually thinking about supporting the front of the spoiler from the front similar to like this
http://www.ssdd-motorsport.com/image...ts/247-1.pjpeg

You can buy the supports. I would attach it to the spoiler itself and the bottom of the bumper.

I'll try topost picks of my Kamei spoiler supports... They're a little more stealthy than the BMW ones in that pic... and don't require drilling holes in your fenders...

That would be much appreciated!

It involves bolting a plate to the bumper bracket bolt and one to the hole in the spoiler and getting a piece of rod and welding it to each plate. I can't find any pics right now, but if you use the right bumper bolt and position the plates in the right way the rod connecting them should clear the fender no problem!

Great pics! I like the BBS wheels too - very classy!

Finally put a 20mm adjustable whiteline swaybar on the front of the car. The handleing is really coming together. WAY more stable in the curves. Just waiting on my rear swaybar and then ill be golden!

Well I havent posted here in awhile but I have a big project.

Type 4 POWER!

Currently the powertrain is a stock 1600dp with pointless ignition and an svda. Im really looking forward to having some extra power driving the rear wheels, and perhaps a higher geared trasmission for better highway cruising since I have a smaller diameter tire on my car.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/9146d902.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...affitiTall.jpg

I have been searching for a 1.8 liter 914 engine on craigslist for a couple years and last week I finally found what I wanted. A pretty clean longblock and duel solex carburetors. the engine came with everything, all cooling tin was intact.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/5101b74d.jpg

After the engine was torn down to the longblock

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...4.jpg~original
At this point the engine was completely dissasembled.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/035ce84b.jpg

I did find some funky stuff in the sump plate, seems like it was never cleaned out. What looks to be a rock of some sort, some wood or bark, and some type of plant seed or bug or something. Donno

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/9c49a19a.jpg

I only had one concern about the engine while I was tearing it down. The engine didnt come with the flywheel (ok since I wont be able to use it anyway) and when I got it home I realized there was about a 1/4 " of play in the crankshaft, I could literally grab it and move in back and forth in the case. Im sure that this is not good but i didnt notice anything considerably wrong when I opened up the case. Bearing wear and thats about it. Have any ideas what it could have been?

Here are some internal picks including the heads (large valves!), main bearings that I can see, camshaft lobe wear.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/7f797dae.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/931c52fd.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/69289e74.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/82e408be.jpg

Looks like something got loose in this cylinder at some point in the engines life. I believe it was from a previous rebuild as I didnt see any marring or damage in the corresponding piston.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/a1858fbd.jpg

Definetly has some funky camshaft lobe wear as well as what looks to be some indentation in the lifters.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/18717de7.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/10929aff.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/f46d0ee5.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/a3a3f41d.jpg

Different wear
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/7619920b.jpg

And finally some main bearing wear, they look pretty crappy if you ask me.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/d0e93347.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/ae5be9c8.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/2fbc50e9.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/67121d89.jpg

let me know if you guys can give me any hints as to what kind of life this engine has lived, I plan to build a 2056 with rat cooling so almost all parts will be replaced including crank, rods, p/c, valvetrain. I am planning on getting the heads rebuilt with 46/34 valves, I will be sticking them in the oven soon to check for cracks.

Hi

Looks like a good start.

The marking in the combustion chamber is often caused by an accelerator pump jet falling out of the carby and getting massed up, this is a very common occurrence.

When no flywheel is fitted it is normal for the crankshaft to move like you described.

Steve

November Eurotuner Magazine
 

Woke up to a text this morning from my buddy saying I had a picture In this months Eurotuner Magazine! Excited to say the least that out of the over 1000 cars at the Leavenworth Cruise they decided to put a picture of my car in the article!

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...3.jpg~original

Still working on my type 4 conversion. I have decided to go with either a stock 2 liter displacement or go up to 2056 with 96mm p/c's. I have already sourced a 2 liter crank and rods and still need to purchase valvetrain parts and p/c's. I am on a pretty tight budget so I am not going to crazy so I have elected to go with the Joe Cali conversion shroud and I am going to try and keep it as stock looking as possible. Flat black and silver.

Leavenworth!?!

For some reason I always thought you were in Europe. I missed the cruise this year by simply mixing up the dates in my head. As stated, don't worry about the crank movement. I would have the crank checked/measured due to those bearings though. Doesn't look too bad, but better to be safe. If you get stuck for internal parts I may have what you need, I'm just North of Vancouver Bc.

-Dave

Wow, I had no idea you are so close. I follow your build thread religiously and am a huge fan of your cars. I am in Tacoma, Wa. I actually picked up a set of 2 liter rods and crank that appear to be in good condition, and the one originally pictured is the 1.7/1.8 crank. Im going to take a bunch of parts up to Northwest Connecting Rod to have them checked out. Hope to see you and one of your cars next year at the cruise:thumbup:

Recaro Seats
 

Also forgot to mention I made a welcome addition to my interior. Recaro seats from a MkII gti/gli. The perfect mix of comfort and support. I welded a couple pieces of flatbar to a stock set of seat bases and the seats bolt on to those. This puts the seats at a perfect level.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...8.jpg~original

Nice shot in the magazine :)

Those seats are one of my fav's, good find!

I have a nice pair of those seats down in the shop. I plan to put them in my son's bug one of these days.

Its been awhile. I like this forum and still check it occasionally. The type 4 motor didn't work out. I was too young and didn't have enough time, money or experience to make it happen. Now is a different story.

I am currently in the process of installing an ej22 motor from a 1993 Legacy into my bug, and just wanted to share some of the things that I have done to make it a clean install. Currently I have the wiring harness done, but not shortened and fitted to my car. I am in the process of fabricating the exhaust, and making changes to the engine that will be handy later. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Things I have knocked off the list

Wiring harness
Sump stock fuel tank
Run 3/8" fuel lines through the tunnel and into the engine compartment
Shortened oil sump and pickup tube
Reversed coolant manifold (will add pictures later)
Many more things to come

I was rear ended a couple years ago and it really messed the car up. I have most of the body back to where it needs to be, but getting it moving under its own power is my major motive at the moment.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455824.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455823.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455822.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455821.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455820.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455819.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455818.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455817.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455816.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455815.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455814.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455813.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455811.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1455810.jpg

Sorry to hear about the accident. An insurance company will never know the hundreds of hours we put into these cars nor will some idiot who hits you.

Maybe it's my computer, but I can't see the photos on your newest post.

Hmmm, not sure why you cant see the pictures. I have looked on several different computers and they work.

Dealing with the insurance company when haggling for the value of my car was the biggest pain in the ass. I hate insurance companies.

About done with the fabrication work for my header. Waiting on a vband flange that will connect the header to the canister style muffler i plan on making. I want the exhaust to exit out the stock location. You can see the amount of clearance i will get with this setup now. Before I make the muffler portion I plan on doing a test fit of what i have so far.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1459831.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1459830.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1459829.jpg

that header looks awesome!

Thank you! It has been fun making it.

Here is a picture of the reverse coolant manifold that I made. I have a lathe at work so I made up the segment and welded in as an extension. It lines up straight with the car and fits under the intake manifold nicely.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1460235.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1460234.jpg

nice work, is your header high enough? I scrape my cross pipe flanges all the time

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/...m.jpg~original

I hope so! At the moment its about 1/8" higher than my chopped oil pan, which is only about a 1/4" lower than my oil filter. So I am hoping it will do the job! My beetle is pretty low, but if i need to raise it for more ground clearance or go with a different wheel/tire package I am not opposed to it.

Its hard to tell from photos, I lifted my trans 25mm and moved it forward 100mm, moving it forward really helps on speedbumps etc as the wheels lift it over the bump

So I built this extension onto the thermostat housing, Its pretty stout but I am still unsure about it. Trying to make pulling the engine out very easy, and also not a huge fan of running a rubber tube by the exhaust header. Ill probably just run it until it cracks or gives me issues.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1465032.jpg

But I am happy because I did the first fit up of the engine in the car! The exhaust looks like it is going to work perfectly, I just have to figure out how I want to make the custom muffler. The tips will definitely be coming out of the stock location, and I am planning on making some sort of canister muffler. Its all a big experiment but thats what makes it fun!

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1465031.jpg

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1465030.jpg

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1465028.jpg

My reversed coolant manifold is pointing just a tad high, so I will be adjusting that for better fit. On the plus side ground clearance looks great! Lower than before, but not crazy low.

Getting my coolant system figured out. I made some nifty brackets to hold the tubing to the floor, they will be isolated with rubber for final fitment. The front of the tubes are done, they both snake through the passenger side beam to the radiator which will sit at a slight angle. The radiator is a nice griffin unit that fits perfectly in the spare tire well, I also have a nice spal fan that I will be using to pull air in when its needed. I have a unique idea that I am going to run with for how I am going to get air to the front of the radiator, and it involves something rather special thats on its way from France right now, so stay tuned!

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1477870.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1477869.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1477868.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1477867.jpg

I know now without a shadow of a doubt that I am a hoarder........ and that there is a definite difference between a Kamei spoiler for a standard beetle and a super. Here is the photographic evidence that just showed up in the mail! Woohoo! btw I have extensive experience working with fiberglass and composites, and plan on making some molds. Ideally I would like to vacuum form them from abs but that might prove difficult with my resources.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1481245.jpg

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1481244.jpg

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1481243.jpg

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1481242.jpg

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1481241.jpg

You can see from the pictures that the super beetle spoiler that I have had for years is substantially bigger, and has different locations cut into the top for bumper mount clearance.

Keep up the good work! I love the pie cuts:)

Well your project looks good. However, seeing the room left in your compartment, I don't see a six cylinder being able to fit. Ah, man.

News?

Good morning, please clarify your response?

Hello, effvee.

It's been a while since the last post from 72marineblue. SO.. that's why I posted the "news?". :)

I'm curious about the newest upgrades. :D